deal
1a business transaction: They closed the deal after a week of negotiating.
a bargain or arrangement for mutual advantage: the best deal in town.
a secret or underhanded agreement or bargain: His supporters worked a number of deals to help his campaign.
Informal. treatment received in an interaction or arrangement with another: He got a raw deal.
an indefinite but large quantity, amount, extent, or degree (usually preceded by good or great): a good deal of work;a great deal of money.
Cards.
the distribution of cards to the players in a game.
the set of cards in one's hand.
the turn of a player to distribute the cards to the players.
the period of time during which a hand, or set of cards, is played.
an act of handing out or distributing.
(initial capital letter) an economic and social policy pursued by a political administration: the Fair Deal;the New Deal;the Green New Deal.
Obsolete. portion; share.
to occupy oneself or itself (usually followed by with or in): Botany deals with the study of plants.He deals in generalities.
to take action with respect to a thing or person (followed by with): Law courts must deal with lawbreakers.
to conduct oneself toward persons: He deals fairly.
to be able to handle competently or successfully; cope (followed by with):I can't deal with your personal problems.
to trade or do business (followed by with or in): to deal with a firm;to deal in used cars.
to distribute, especially the cards in a game (often followed by out): She dealt out five hands of six cards each. It's your turn to deal.
Slang. to buy and sell drugs illegally.
Archaic. to have dealings or commerce, often in a secret or underhanded manner (often followed by with): to deal with the Devil.
to give to one as a share; apportion: Deal me in.
to distribute among a number of recipients, as the cards required in a game: Deal five cards to each player.
Cards. to give a player (a specific card) in dealing: You dealt yourself four aces.
to deliver (an action or a judgment) on or upon someone; administer: As a repeat offender, she can expect to be dealt a harsh sentence. Did you see the cat dealing a blow to a dog five times its size?
Slang. to buy and sell (drugs) illegally.
Slang. to trade (an athlete) to another team.
deal off,
Poker. to deal the final hand of a game.
Slang. to get rid of or trade (something or someone) in a transaction.
Idioms about deal
cut a deal, Informal. to make an agreement, especially a business agreement: Networks have cut a deal with foreign stations for an international hookup.
deal someone in, Slang. to include: He was making a lot of dough in the construction business so I got him to deal me in.
seal the deal. See entry at seal the deal.
Origin of deal
1Other words for deal
Other definitions for deal (2 of 2)
a board or plank, especially of fir or pine, cut to any of various standard sizes.
such boards collectively.
fir or pine wood.
made of deal.
Origin of deal
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use deal in a sentence
The U.S. got a relatively good deal—three Cuban spies were returned to their country in the swap.
That said, there has been a good deal of sensible work on the LRS-B requirement.
Is the Pentagon’s $55 Billion Stealth Bomber Too Big a Secret? | Bill Sweetman | September 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST"I think Kathleen Sebelius deserves a good deal of credit where we are today," said Daschle.
Hell, a good deal of it is invisible to the more focused eyes of informed observers.
Are Black Students Unruly? Or is America Just Racist? | Jamelle Bouie | March 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIndeed it is a good deal less harmful if fewer than half of the people receiving the information act on it.
23andMe and Me: Why Policymakers Should Set the Genetic Testing Company Free | Charles C. Johnson | February 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The patriarchal decree of the government was a good deal of a joke on the plains, anyway—except when you were caught defying it!
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairShe and her younger sister, Janet, had quarreled a good deal through force of unfortunate habit.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinIn practice we find a good deal of technical study comes into the college stage.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) WellsBernard sat thinking for a long time; at first with a good deal of mortification—at last with a good deal of bitterness.
Confidence | Henry JamesThough the amount played for is serious, a good deal of rather bald conversation and chaff goes on.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James Wills
British Dictionary definitions for deal (1 of 3)
/ (diːl) /
(intr foll by in) to engage (in) commercially: to deal in upholstery
(often foll by out) to apportion (something, such as cards) to a number of people; distribute
(tr) to give (a blow) to (someone); inflict
(intr) slang to sell any illegal drug
informal a bargain, transaction, or agreement
a particular type of treatment received, esp as the result of an agreement: a fair deal
an indefinite amount, extent, or degree (esp in the phrases good or great deal)
cards
the process of distributing the cards
a player's turn to do this
a single round in a card game
See big deal
cut a deal informal, mainly US to come to an arrangement; make a deal: See also deal with
the real deal informal a person or thing seen as being authentic and not inferior in any way
Origin of deal
1British Dictionary definitions for deal (2 of 3)
/ (diːl) /
a plank of softwood timber, such as fir or pine, or such planks collectively
the sawn wood of various coniferous trees, such as that from the Scots pine (red deal) or from the Norway Spruce (white deal)
of fir or pine
Origin of deal
2British Dictionary definitions for Deal (3 of 3)
/ (diːl) /
a town in SE England, in Kent, on the English Channel: two 16th-century castles: tourism, light industries. Pop: 96 670 (2003 est)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with deal
In addition to the idioms beginning with deal
- deal in
- deal out
- deal with
also see:
- big deal
- close the sale (deal)
- cut a deal
- done deal
- good deal
- make a federal case (big deal)
- no deal
- raw deal
- square deal
- sweeten the kitty (deal)
- wheel and deal
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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